Gordon The Bike Guy

A young fellow I know had his bike stolen a while ago. There are so many bikes stolen these days but bike theft isn’t what this story is about. This story is about the connection between bicycles and Christmas. It’s hard to find an adult that has never received a bike from Santa but it seems that this is going to be a lost generation. The ladies reading this might recall the Strawberry shortcake or My Little Pony bike they found under the tree. For the men it would have been a cool chromed out Kuwahara BMX bike. These were the hot items in the bike shop for Christmas in the early 80’s. Today’s Christmas lists don’t often include bikes which has been a mystery to me until my friend had his bike stolen. He was upset by the infringement on his freedom and to comfort him my wife suggested that he might get a new one for Christmas. His response to her kind consoling words was that his dad would get him a new bike anyways and he would ask for something else for Christmas. The story ends at this point with the mystery solved somewhat. The difference between today and 25 years ago is that a child’s ownership of a bicycle has possibly become more of a right than a privilege.

The holiday spirit around the bike shop has never been stronger. The decorations are up, carols are playing and hot apple cider is brewing. Christmas is always a fun time around the bike shop. One of my favourite stories of the old days happened at this time of year, and I call it the Pony story.

In the past my dad, Cap, was known for taking anything on trade. The trade-ins included everything from bicycles, motorcycles, cars, a dump truck and all manner of household goods. The oddest trade was possibly a pony, not a mustang car kind of pony but a real live, flesh and blood pony. I don’t know what kind of pony it was because this story took place before my time but as the story goes a pony was traded in at around Christmas. My dad struck upon the concept of a give away promotion. Soon enough, an ad was in the paper and there were entry forms on the counter for all to enter the draw for a pony, to be awarded to the winner on Christmas Eve. The pony draw was popular. I’m told that more girls entered then boys. Possibly this was their way to pass the time while big brother was looking at bikes. The draw was made on December 24th and not a moment too soon as the temporary horse stall dad had built in the basement was starting to make the store smell like, well, a horse stall. The winner wasn’t too far away, just down Kelly St. which runs behind the store. My dad accompanied by my cousin Bill and a pony walked over to the winner’s house. It was Bill’s job to ring the bell while Cap held the pony. The mother of the winner answered the door, cook pot in hand as she was busy preparing for the Christmas day feast. The looks on her face are still etched in Bill’s retinas I am sure. Suffice it to say they weren’t expecting a pony for Christmas and they insisted there must have been a mistake and another name should be drawn. A deal was worked out and the pony went to a very good home at a friend’s farm in Ladner.

I guess a pony for Christmas didn’t fit the Christmas plan like a bicycle for Christmas would have. To fit a bicycle for a child you can use your child’s inseam measurement to find the correct size. Children’s bikes are referred to by the size of the wheel. Bike shop quality bikes come with 12”, 16”, 20” and 24” wheels. In general, a 12” wheel bike is good for a 3-4 year old, A 16” wheels bike is usually for the 4-6 age range, a 20” wheel bike works for the 7-9 age group and 24” wheel bikes are fitting the 9-11 ages. Use the inseam measurement to confirm your child will be able to stand over the frame of the bike with their feet flat on the ground. Try the website BikesRNotToys.com for more tips on bike buying for children. When your child out grows their bike we will take the bike as a trade in for a bigger size. Just don’t try to trade in a pony.

One that combines amazing scenery with outdoor recreation, is affordable and environmentally friendly to boot? Try touring by bicycle!

Bicycle touring is a fun and affordable way to explore new places with the whole family. Cap’s Bicycle Shop is hosting a series of Touring Night’s where you can come and learn about the joys of touring by bicycle!

The first one is happening Tuesday, November 18th, 7-9pm.
Come and enjoy a dynamic powerpoint presentation complete with photos and real-life touring people who have actually done this! ADMISSION IS FREE, so bring a friend, bring a neighbour, bring your whole family.

Drop in or email info@capsbicycleshop.com to reserve a seat.

If that title sounds familiar, then you are familiar with that iconic rock mocumentary “Spinal Tap”. It is one of my favourite movies.. It’s just my kind of humour and I don’t have to justify that to anyone. Campagnolo, the venerable Italian component manufacturer, must have taken Spinal Tap to heart this year with the debut of their new Eleven speed group in the Tour de France. In bike lingo these days we only refer to the number of gears a bike has by the rear cassette, that’s the group of cogs on the back wheel of the bike. Back in the 1970’s we did math to figure out the number of different gears a bike had. If there were 2 chainrings on the front and 5 sprockets on the back then by the virtue of math two times five meant you had a ten speed and were cool. A few years ago, bikes started to have ten sprockets on the back and three on the front. Wow! 30 speeds. That was a number that got too big for bike shop guys to count to because we got confused after running out of fingers, so just calling it a 10 speed kept us from admitting our lack of math skills. Now the Italians at Campagnolo have gone to Eleven. Trust those Italian guys to find another digit to count.

If you felt that the Tour de France was lacking some sparkle this year, I would agree with you. I had a hard time getting into it this year. My Italian uncle-in-law kept my interest in cycle racing alive during this years tour with his stories of growing up in Italy during the era when the best bike racers enjoyed super star status. While watching this years Tour, he recollected how he would listen to bicycle races on the radio. Imagine how exciting that would have been, all the bike racing without the beautiful scenery shots that we are used to with today’s television coverage. In those days the bicycle idols had the names of Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali. These two were the Gretzky and Lemiuex of the day in cycling. Bartali was famous as a climber and pioneered the use of the Campagnolo shifting system. Previously the two available gears were mounted on opposite sides of the rear wheel hub. Switching gears meant stopping the bicycle and flipping the rear wheel. The new system changed gears when the rider backpedaled and moved a rod that switched the chain to the other gear. When Bartali did this it struck fear into the hearts of his opponents, as it showed he was ready to attack. Campagnolo was certainly the innovator in bicycle racing at this time. The Campagnolo company started out by living up to the “necessity is the mother of invention” motto. Tullio Campagnolo, an accomplished bicycle racer of the 1920’s, invented the quick release wheel after he lost a race while struggling to undo the wing nuts that held racing bike wheels on during that time. Tullio’s invention of the quick release remains almost unchanged to this day on most bikes.

Campagnolo equipment has always been revered as the pinnacle of cycling parts with more Tour de France wins then any other manufacturer and the components of choice for the last great champion before Lance Armstrong, Miguel Indurain (5 wins 1991 to 1995). I wonder if Greg Lemond likes him better than Lance who rode with Shimano, Greg won his Tours on Campy equipment. Campagnolo tried their hand at mountain bike parts but didn’t achieve any great success. There equipment today is for the road and track and is cult like in it’s popularity. This years innovation of Eleven gears on the back has left many in the bicycle world scratching their heads as to why. The reason for Eleven gears? Why not?” says Francesco Zenere, Campagnolo’s press manager. “There is constant demand from customers for cassettes, which have an extra sprocket within the usual range or those that would increase the metrical range. Cyclists are never truly happy whether they are professionals or amateurs. The 11th speed is in fact the icing.”

The words of Francesco left me dismayed. “Cyclists are never truly happy”? What has my lifes work been for? If not to make cyclists happy without needing an 11th gear. Has my hardwork changing tires and adjusting saddles for all these years been for not because all that was really needed was an extra gear? I think not Francesco, cyclists are a happy bunch with whatever they are riding. I think you are wrong, we’ll take any bike that fits us and have fun riding to the bakery to get our icing on a cake. Shimano, the bicycle component monopoly from Japan debuted their new thing at this years Tour too, not to be outdone by Campy, Shimano has electronic, robotic gear shifting. Domo Aregoto Mr Roboto, me and my customers will keep our pedals turning the old fashioned way.

The stopping devices on a bicycle are called brakes. Change the spelling to ‘Breaks’ and that’s a whole new ball game or more accurately it’s a word game. On your bicycle, brakes are good but breaks are bad. I’ve got a story about a break-up, a way to take-a-break and how you should use your brakes.

In the bicycle world, the news is about a break-up between Trek Bicycle Company and legendary racer Greg Lemond. Greg won the Tour de France a three times and was the first North American to this. That inspired him to put his name on some bicycles and sell them. Things went well for a while and then they went bad. That’s when Trek came in and seeing the value in Greg’s accomplishments and name they started making and marketing the Lemond bikes for Greg. Then along came Lance Armstrong, he won the tour seven times and did it on a Trek bike. Greg and Lance are both spokesmen for cycling but in different ways. Greg is vocal about the drug problem in pro cycling and began casting aspersions towards people that were winning, people like Lance. That has led to Trek not wanting to make Lemond bikes anymore. All very ‘soap opera” ish for sure as the two sides now battle this out in court.

Take a break and enjoy the Sapperton Street Festival this year on Sunday, June 22nd. The Sapperton BC150 Kids Bike Rally is a must for all those little and big ones in grades K-8 to participate in. This is a rally and the focus is on participating. There’s no trophy for finishing first but the New Westminster NewsLeader has generously donated trophies for the youngest, oldest, and best dressed rally participant this year. Bike Rally participants can register at Cap’s Bicycle Shop in Sapperton. The registration fee is $5, which will be donated to the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation. Rally riders are encouraged to raise additional money for the RCHF through pledges or any other legal means. There is a trophy for the top fund raiser participating in this years Rally. The first 100 kids registered will receive a souvenir Sapperton Street Festival T-Shirt and everyone that registers will be entered in a draw to win a $150 one year junior term deposit from G&F Financial. The Sapperton BC150 Bike Rally starts at 1:30 pm sharp in front of Cap’s Bicycle Shop on East Columbia Street.

To stop things from breaking you need to do some braking. I feel confident in saying that brakes were invented very shortly after the wheel came to be. If you ride a bike without brakes, the need for them becomes instantly obvious but interestingly enough the most common question new riders have is how to shift gears, rather than how to stop. The skill of stopping may seem simplistic at first, but put some thought to it and most new riders will be able to safely halt there forward progress in half the distance they are used to, and remain comfortably astride their machine. For the record, all new brakes systems on bikes work great, if set up properly. Whether the brakes are disc, rim, hub or drum takes what your bike has and learn to us it. First rule of breaking is to use the front break. During stopping, your weight is transferred to the front wheel (that is why rear wheels skid) and the front brake will stop you the fastest. Practice pulling on both brake levers simultaneously, as you feel your weight shifting forward, slide backwards on the bike seat to put more weight over the rear wheel. Practice this maneuver every chance you get and see how fast you can stop. The second rule of breaking is have brakes that work. Brake pads, the type that rub on the rim have lines in them. If you don’t see lines in yours they are worn out and need to be replaced. Rim brake pads should only be 2mm away from the rim when you are not squeezing the brake. If they are farther away then these then your brakes need adjusting. The rules are similar for disc brakes. Remember that wet conditions will increase the stopping distance required and you should ride accordingly. Enough about stopping; get rolling into summer and keep those pedals turning.

When is eight more than twenty four? That is when my loving wife tells me so. This lesson was learned on a recent bicycle excursion that exposed this new math to me. My wife’s bike is a regular 24 speed hybrid style bike, with two shifters on the handlebars, three chain rings on the front and 8 sprockets on the rear. Now I know that’s a lot of math and sometimes all those levers and cogs makes gear shifting intimidating for some riders. When my wife tried a bike that was an eight speed with only one shifter she was able to use the whole range of gears. She felt that the bike actually had more gears then her other 24 speed bike because it was so easy to use. To make it even easier to use, the eight speed bike she was riding had an internal hub gear. I have been raving about these for years and when I saw first hand how much my wife enjoyed ridding a bike with this hub I new my excitement for this type of bike was justified. Today there are more bikes popping up on the market with internal gear hubs. These are easier to use because the rider doesn’t have to be pedaling to shift gears and there is no chain rattling around like on a derailleur type bike.

The world of bicycles is where the axiom “less is more” must have first been used because it is true in most aspects of cycling. The cross country cycle tourist knows that with less equipment they can travel more and competitive racer cyclists will choose less weight for more speed. Also, cycling shorts are made from spandex because less material is more comfortable. Think about it; a world where less is more. This notion can be very liberating and can alleviate many symptoms of industrial disease where the goal is to consume more and have less. Bicycles use less and give more in just about every way. A shiver just went down my spine writing this as I am trying to be a good capitalist and run a bicycle store where I definitely want you, to want more, of the things in my store. This is somewhat contradictory to my thinking here but I hope you get the point, more or less.

To this end there are a few opportunities with your bicycle to get more. Bike to Work week is soon approaching, and despite the dreadful weather that is now surely in the past, this years bike to work week will out do all the others. The dates this year are May 26th to June 1st. According to the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition last years Bike to Work Week attracted 593 teams with 3,541 participants that resulted in 908 new commuter cyclists. That’s big. Electronic Arts was the biggest in total number of commutes and kilometers commuted. Maybe they were working on a new game “Cycle Cyber Commuter 2008” or something like that. If you want to get a workplace team together it’s easy to do, just visit www.vacc.bc.ca and follow the links to get your team in place. By the way, Cap’s will be out there at commuter stations around Burnaby and New Westminster with prizes, mechanical help and good old fashioned cheers to encourage you on the way.

Something coming up a bit sooner is a new event called the “New Westminster Heritage Cycling Tour”. The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition is again involved, this time collaborating with the New Westminster Museum and Archives, to take you on a cycle tour of BC’s first city. The tour finishes at Irving House after taking the wheelers along city greenways through Columbia Street, Queen’s Park and Sapperton where you might happen to see one of Canada’s oldest bicycle shops. The tour happens on May 24th from 1:00 - 4:00 pm and the registration fee is only five dollars. How you apply the less is more rule here is up to you but keep those pedals turning and you’ll be fine.

You would be excused if you thought that the Bike Guy was overjoyed with the news of the carbon tax that will soon be placed on gas. After all, the extinction of the car is what bike people all over the world dream about. I am sorry to burst the bubble, but I am as upset and disappointed about this new tax as most of you are. Why would that be? I think that more needs to be done to encourage the new rather then discouraging the old. Taxing gas more will increase the cost of most goods and services and the prices of bicycles and most everything else will go up. As for slowing down our collective use of fossil fuels lets consider the ‘Frog in the Frying Pan’. If you were so inclined to put a frog in a hot frying pan he would likely jump out, but put a frog in a cold pan and slowly apply the heat the frog may not notice when the pan gets too hot. By the way, this is just an analogy, please no calls from animal rights groups or those wishing frog recipes. Slowly raising fuel prices is slowly turning up the heat and we may not know when to stop jumping to the pump.

Has the Bike Guy become too philosophical or am I just a negative Nelly? Well, you can bet your frogs legs that I’ve got an idea or two to encourage less driving and more bike riding. Let’s face it, our cities and lifestyles are designed around cars and most of us have to drive sometimes, just not, all the time. The efforts should be on encouraging people to choose a way to get around that is healthier for our planet; eliminating the trans-gassy car trips from our transportation diet so to speak. I propose a special “green” license plate for car drivers who drive less than 10,000 kilometers a year. If veterans, Olympic supporters and the self-obsessed get custom plates why not green drivers?

Now with Spring starting this week you may just be getting around to stowing the ski equipment and finding the bicycles buried at the back of the shed. A few things to do before heading out on that first ride would be to air up the tires, dust off the grass clippings, oil the chain and check the fit. Airing up the tires is easy if you can find the pump. A full size foot pump is the fastest and easiest way to correctly inflate bicycle tires. If you need to purchase a new one look for one that has a built in gauge and doesn’t tip over easily. A less green option is one of those nifty air compressors that plug into a cars cigarette lighter. Fill the tires slowly at first, stopping when there is about 20 PSI in the tire and give the wheel a spin to check that the tire is staying seated on the rim. If you see the tube bulging out from the tire, stop and get help. Tires have a pressure range marked on the side. For example, it might read 55 to 80 PSI so inflate the tire to somewhere in the range marked on your tire. Go with the lower pressure for more comfort and the higher pressure for more speed.

Cleaning your bike is next. All you need is a rag to wipe the dust off and a bucket of soapy water to wash. Pressure nozzles and car washes can be very harmful to bikes as they blast water into places it shouldn’t  be. Take the time to clean your bike and get to know each other again. While cleaning watch out for things that are loose or don’t look right. After washing, put some bike lube on the chain. Don’t use motor oil, cooking oil, or any other oil,  because only a lubricant made for a bicycle should be used. Then if everything is tight and you are up for a ride take your bike for a shake down spin. Don’t forget to wear a helmet. Does the fit seem right, do the gears shift and the brakes work? After a short ride you will know if a spring tune up is needed or if you can jump right into riding and keep those pedals turning.

There has been a rumbling lately about a public bicycle system. The news stories focus is on Paris which launched the new darling of bicycle sharing programs this past summer. Velib, is the programs given name and it consists of more than 10,600 bikes available at 750 stations all over the city. The program lets users swipe their credit card and take and return a bike. Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe hopes Velib will cut car traffic in the city by 40 per cent by 2020.

There are many programs out there and recently Translink has been floating the idea. I have been thinking about bike sharing programs and have been undecided about whether they are good or not. Then, a seemingly unrelated story lept from the pages of The Vancouver Sun and brought the issue into focus for me. The payphone, that iconic temple of communication that was once the saviour of stranded motorists or husbands who had lost their shopping list is nearing extinction. When was the last time you saw a pack of payphones, neatly lined up along a wall, waiting to eat up your quarters? The report stated that in Canada there are 150,000 payphones and they will be phased out at 3% a year. I think that is optomistic in the payphones favour. Video stores were quick to phase out VHS. Let’s face it old technology gets extinct fast.

How do pay phones correlate to bicycles? Well, bicycle sharing programs could be called pay bikes. Pay phones are extinct because they cost to much to maintain and almost everyone has a phone in their pocket now. Pay bikes will be expensive to maintain and the cost of a good bike is well within the reach of anyone who can afford a cellphone. Why would pay bikes work? They would work for tourists or stranded motorists but I remain sceptical if they would work for the general public. I do see a potential for something that would work though. For Paris to have over 10,000 bikes available at the swipe of a card they must have over 10,000 safe and wired bicycle locking contraptions. Cities don’t like getting things stolen, so those parking spots must be well designed. I say skip the bikes and just provide the good secure bicycle parking. Riders will glady swipe a card or phone a number for a secure bicycle lock up because it would sure be better then carrying a 10 pound lock.

I’ve decided now that I think bike sharing programs are good for tourism but that to encourage more bike trips by commuters there should be better routes and better parking. Now that I’ve made up my mind I can ponder other reasons why a bike sharing program might be implemented. It would take someone more cynical then me to suggest that this might be a power move by translink to take over the bicycle end of the transportation network. If Translink put in a bike share plan then maybe only Translink’s bikes would be allowed on buses and Skytrains. Bicycles are accounting for 6% of commuter trips now and forecasts are that this number will rise. Translink hates competition. The New Westminster Trolley Company had to satisfy them that their service was for tourism and not for another bus service on the new Sixth Street route. You’d have to have a pretty dim view of Translink to think these things. After all, Translink is allowing bikes on Skytrain sometimes and they did put bike racks on the buses that you could use in the daylight. I like what they have done in San Diego and other Califonian cities. There the municipal governments give you a cash rebate if you ride a bike. Sounds like just the plan to keep those pedals turning.

A year-long pass for the program costs $41.75, a one-day pass $1.42 and a weekly pass $7.15. On the day the program launched, 13,000 people had already bought annual passes.

This is some real neat info on the NiteRider LED light systems we sell

If you scroll over the names of the lights it shows an actual test of how bright it is:  http://bikemag.com/gear/accessories/LED_Light_Test_1/

There is a picture hanging in my office of my dad and me in a one horse open sleigh. The picture was the front page of The Sun newspaper on December 24th, 1970. The only other items under the masthead were the words “Merry Christmas to all Sun Readers”. The day the picture was taken I was a cold, crabby 7 year old with no idea why I was being dragged out to the wilds of Burke Mountain. The lesson that day was the same as it was when anyone got wrapped up in dad’s plans; go with the flow and everything will work out for the best. This is something to remember at this stressful time of the year as holiday shoppers struggle to find that perfect gift for those they care about the most.

What should you do if there is a bicycle rider on your list? Here are some gift ideas that will be surefire hits for any cyclist. A great little gift that is under $10 and suitable for any rider young or old is a hub shiner. You’re excused if you don’t know what a hub shiner is. We haven’t had these in the store for years. You can be sure that this is something they won’t already have. A local craftsman has done up a few and they are cool. They are made from leather, just like they were 100 years ago, but with some fancy patterns embossed into them. Hub shiners fit any bike and do a simple little job, keep the bicycles hub clean and shiny. There are some other things that cyclists always need or can never have enough of. A nice, new, clean water bottle makes a good gift, and you can pack other treats inside of it too. Look for a bottle that is made from better materials that are dishwasher safe. I suggest the Tacx Source bottle that is made in Holland from polyethylene or the French made Zefal thermal bottle that will keep cold stuff cold and hot stuff hot for longer. Don’t be shy or embarrassed about giving socks this Christmas. Cycling socks are always appreciated as most riders don’t have enough. They are made from sports fabrics such as coolmax and with inspiring slogans and graphics they are functional as well as fun.

The tradition of Christmas trees comes to us from Germany. Also from Germany, is a line of bicycle locks that haven’t been offered in Canada before. People are always concerned about bicycle theft and the only way to stop it is to use a lock. Abus brand bicycle locks are from Germany where they take bike locks seriously. Their locks consistently rank as one of the best in any consumer tests of locks. To start the habit of locking a bicycle, it is important to start at a young age, so that is why we like the children’s locks from Abus. They are easy to use with their large easy to grasp connectors and spring loaded lock mechanisms. By far this is the nicest children’s lock I have ever seen. If you like a real tree rather than an imitation tree you might then have someone on your list that would like a bicycle bell made of wood rather than steel. These little beauties come in Cherry or Padauk wood and are more of a bicycle knocker then a bell.

If you know a little bit about the bike rider on your list then try to pigeon hole them into commuter, road or mountain bike riders. From there it is easy to find a useful present that will be appreciated. Commuters can always use more lights and reflectors for visibility. The only limitation to how many lights a bike should have is how much space there is to bolt another one on. In the case of Knog lights there is no bolting required because they are made in a stretchy rubber casing that is waterproof and attaches to the bike in seconds with no tools. Available in a rainbow of colours, Knog lights are fun.

Road riders can always use new tires. I know that doesn’t sound exciting but believe me after fixing road bike flats for twenty years there is a special place in heaven for anyone giving a roadie new tires. Whether road bike riders are just frugal with their rubber or cheap I’ll leave for others to debate but some riders only change their tires when America changes presidents. On the practical side giving new tires is like giving a new bike. It changes the ride that much.

For the mountain biker an ice pack, tensor bandage and the latest DVD will do. Whatever you get them for their bike they’ll just break anyways so you might as well set them up with stuff they can and will use. Amongst the hot DVD’s for Christmas is the latest in the New World Disorder series. Amazing stunts and mind boggling jumps leave the viewing wondering how much further people can push this sport, but that is what we were thinking ten years ago. If you want a crash course on the progression of the sport get the New World Disorder box set. Previews are available on line at www.nwdfilms.com.

I hope you find that little something special for the two wheeled one on your list. By their nature bike riders should not be too picky because anything to perk up their motivation and help keep those pedals turning is appreciated.

Recently, during a ceremony to mark the start of BC’s 150th anniversary, I learned that on November 19th in the year 1858 James Douglas became the first Governor of the new colony called British Columbia, formerly New Caledonia. Previously on that same day I learned how to make an impromptu skirt guard on a bicycle that is ill-equipped to handle the flowing fabric of pre 1900 Victorian dress. How did these two occurrences come together in one day? Well, during a parade of course. You see, there is a Douglas Day parade held at Fort Langley to mark the occasion of James Douglas’ appointment as Governor. As we were celebrating this historic moment of our territory joining Britain as a colony, I had a British lady helping me separate my wife’s dress from the chain of her bicycle. Lucky for my marriage it was a short parade as my fine lady was prepared to walk her bicycle the distance rather then risk having it get caught again. But the English came to the rescue as they are very crafty at simple and practical solutions to problems. In the case of British Columbia, it was better that we were a colony and not at risk of being annexed by the United States. In the case of the skirt in the chain, a simple skirt guard can be fashioned from some canvas stretched across the rear fender and fastened with elastics to the rear wheel axle. Unfortunately, we hadn’t brought any elastics with us and the local canvas store was shut for the day so I resorted to a plastic bag and some duct tape. It worked great. Red Green should add that one to the many uses of duct tape.

One lady cyclist that didn’t need duct tape or skirt guards to get her name in the history books is Edna Woodcox. You’re excused if that name doesn’t ring a bell and you can’t find it in your history books. Edna might only be mentioned in my collection of Cap’s Bicycle History, because Edna rode a unicycle from New Westminster, the first capital of the colony, to Edmonton which as we all know is the capital of Alberta (46 years after New Westminster was made the capital of BC by the way). Edna’s one wheeled cycling heroics probably had nothing to do with capitals, James Douglas or skirt guards (she wore pants). Edna wanted to see her first nephew, is what The British Columbian newspaper reported on Nov 10th, 1961, the day she arrived in Edmonton. Edna used her free hands to carry a small suitcase and when it rained she held an umbrella over her head. She did accept rides along the way and reports say that the trip to Edmonton involved “eighteen startled motorists” but only three to make it home.

“They’d never send a unicycle before in Edmonton” is what the 22 year old Edna reported about her trip. She confounded the Edmonton police who searched through city ordinances and threatened her with a heavy fine to discourage her from riding along the sidewalks. The police eventually gave way to Edna and attained special permission from the mayor to allow her to ride city streets on her unicycle. Edna started her journey from Cap’s Bicycle Shop in Sapperton, New Westminster on Oct 28, 1961. The newspaper reports that my dad, upon learning of Edna’s planned adventure, refunded her the purchase price of her unicycle so she could afford to by warm clothes. Edna was quoted as saying that learning to ride the unicycle is hard work. “It’s good exercise, especially during the early sessions when, says the unicyclist, most of the exercise comes from bending down to pick up the cycle when it topples.”

Good going Edna, I wish I had met you. Your independent spirit is why ladies can ride bikes today without the worry of needing skirt guards. There was a time that bicycling was strictly a man’s pleasure and women couldn’t participate without putting their reputation at risk by exposing their ankles or worse, wearing pants. The 150th anniversary of British Columbia reminds us of how different things used to be and how they have changed, some for the better and some for the worse. May November the 10th be Edna Woodcock day with a large parade of unicyclists so we can all keep those pedals turning.